Catch The Wave
Lisa Gibson President, Hawaii Science & Technology Council

Aloha!  Welcome to the first edition of The Wave, a new e-journal launched by the Hawaii Science & Technology Council.    As people working in science, research and high technology businesses, we think the time is ripe for serious discussion of our island economy, its prospects, and the waves of opportunity breaking on our shores.  As champions of an innovation economy, we decided it was time to speak up.

Last year, the Hawaii Science & Technology Council released a comprehensive economic report on innovation and workforce in Hawaii’s science and technology sectors.  As a private-sector industry association, we knew these sectors of our economy were on the rise, but it was only when we assembled the data that we saw the full scope and promise of the hi-tech wave.  It astonished even us.  The science and technology sectors are growing 33% faster than Hawaii’s overall economy.  The innovation sector is not yet the bulwark of our economy.  Tourism holds that distinction, and will continue to do so for a long time.  But the innovation sector is a vital part of our economy.  It is growing, pays good salaries, and changes our lives for the better.  That’s worth our attention.

As advocates for progress, we decided to employ a tried-and-true tool of communication – the expository essay.  We asked our board and committee members to write about what they knew best, or cared about deeply, and to assemble their thoughts in a disciplined journal style.

We also poked around for worthy examples of exposition.  In this inaugural issue, we are pleased to reprint (with permission from The American Interest) an essay titled “The Innovation State: Why Federal Support for Science is Essential for American Prosperity.”  Its author, William B. Bonvillian, is the director of the Washington office of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.  He was born in Hawai‘i and last year gave a talk at an energy conference in Kona.  Among the many revelations in his article is the fact that President Abraham Lincoln founded the National Academy of Sciences.  That Lincoln conceived such a forward-looking initiative during the darkest days of the republic is instructive.  The worst of times can become the best of times when we seed the future with opportunity.

In Hawaii, we are slogging through some of the worst times in memory.  We take no pleasure in reciting the grim statistics in The Scorecard, but we will not shy away from the facts.  Over 17,000 jobs have been lost in Hawaii during the current recession.  Teachers have accepted furloughs and pay cuts.  More contractions and job losses are coming.  Our stalled economy is not simply the result of a slump in the business cycle, tightened credit markets, or the subprime fiasco.  We believe there are structural deficits in our local economy – the attitudes, policies and regulations that govern business development.  We need to take stock of those deficits and take corrective actions where needed.

To kick off this discussion, we put on our thinking caps and mustered the first round of thoughtful analysis. 

In this inaugural issue of The Wave, Rory Flynn, communications director of SunFuels Hawaii, examines the frightful incidence of outmigration from Hawai‘i and proposes that “leaving home” is a telling economic indicator. 

Tony Clapes reflects on his set of proposals to spur high-tech development in Hawaii nine years after the publication of his seminal book, Blue Wave Millenium: A Future for Hawaii. 

Miles Kubo, chief operating officer of Energy Industries Corporation, tells us how a leading local technology firm offers turn-key solutions to conserve energy in commercial buildings.

Meanwhile, we keep an eye out for signs of breakthroughs and progress.  We link readers to two recent reports of uplifting news: (1) the remarkable success story of the seed corn industry in Hawaii; and (2) an aerospace consortium report on test flights of biofuels.  We will bring more such in-depth news to light in coming issues.

But not all the news is in print.  There are videos, too.  This month, we feature astronomy in four segments that celebrate the spirit of exploration. Big Island farmer Richard Ha shares his convictions and hopes for the Thirty Meter Telescope planned atop Mauna Kea.  Other clips (1) describe the TMT project in more detail; (2) examine a snapshot of deep space seen from the Hubble spacecraft; (3) reveal the astonishing moons of Saturn as never seen before and
(4) a superb video about black holes and a Keck research team atop Mauna Kea.

We have high hopes for this online journal.  We want it to spur critical thinking and purposeful debate.  We want to connect with a full spectrum of public and private sector audiences.  We welcome articles from the science and high-tech community certainly, but not exclusively.  We’d like to hear from people in public life, capture the wisdom of elders, and listen to the questions and aspirations of students.

If you wish to submit an article for publication, contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .  Likewise, if you have a comment on an article, email us a letter.  Over time, we hope to add more interactive tools to this site.  We want to model openness to fresh approaches and resilience in the face of challenges. In that spirit, we invite you to become regular monthly readers.  Share it.    Tell us what you like and what you don’t like.  Encourage your friends and associates to give us a look.  Catch The Wave!